Expecto Patronum
by Just a Little Spark
Summary: She was a worthy rival, he was the bane of her existence. It was a relationship she was comfortable with, and had gotten used to. Shame that it all crumbled because of a Patronus. (HP!AU)
1. Expecto Patronum

_Note: This was originally going to be under Ikigai, but after debating with myself, I realized it could stand on its own as either a two or three shot. This is definitely going to be finished within the next week or so, so stay tuned._

 _HP AU! Hip hip hooray!_

 _Rated T for GoGo's mouth. As usual._

(*)

Defense Against the Dark Arts was _not_ GoGo's favorite class (she had a penchant for Potions), neither was it her _least_ favorite class (that spot belonged to Divination). It helped that the professor for this class was one of GoGo's favorites, Professor Callaghan. It helped that her sixth year class meant that she could spend the period with her friend, Honey the Hufflepuff.

It did _not_ help that the Slytherins were not only sharing the period with the Hufflepuffs, but a few Gryffindors as well. And it did _not_ help that Tadashi Hamada was one of these Gryffindors.

As a Slytherin Prefect, GoGo tried her best to get along with other houses. She could handle the Ravenclaw Prefect, Wasabi, despite him being a mildly obsessive perfectionist. She could also handle the Hufflepuff Prefect, Honey, as proven through their unorthodox friendship. But the perfect Prefect Tadashi Hamada, who was _this_ close to being appointed Head Boy? He drove her to her wits' end.

He was as brave and reckless as any stereotypical Gryffindor, as smart and witty as a Ravenclaw, as open and friendly as a Hufflepuff, and (when GoGo was involved with anything, anyway) as cunning and snarky as a Slytherin. It was a dangerous combination, as far as GoGo was concerned.

She and the Hamada had some sort of unspoken tension between them, a desire to beat the other at anything else. For all of her rebel behavior, GoGo had a pretty good head on her shoulders. She was the only one to best Tadashi at Potions, the only Chaser able to get a Quaffle past him, the only girl who dared to roll her eyes when he walked (or strutted, she would insist) down the halls. In turn, he was also the only non-Slytherin to actually get praised by Professor Krei, the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team (GoGo had yet to earn this title), and the only one who dared to tease and ruffle the prickly Slytherin's feathers.

Wasabi liked to call it a natural rivalry. Honey _insisted_ it was unrelieved sexual tension. GoGo believed it was pure, unadulterated _hate_.

Anyways, back to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Today, you are going to learn how to produce a Patronus!" Professor Callaghan said, a bemused smile on his face. The room erupted into excited whispers and giggles, which Professor Callaghan quickly quieted by holding out his own wand. "If I may, students. _Expecto Patronum_!" A Peregrine falcon erupted from the tip of his wand, and quickly did a circle around the classroom.

Honey actually made a loud _ooh_ -ing sound as the falcon passed by, reaching out to touch it. "This is going to be so amazing!" she said happily to GoGo, unaware of her friend's pale complexion.

 _Of course. Of course they were going to perform GoGo's_ least _favorite spell during_ today's _class. Of course she was going to be completely embarrassed in front of Hamada_. She could produce a Patronus of course, that was beside the point. She just didn't _like_ producing one in front of her classmates.

"If you'd like another example, I'd like to as Mister Hamada to produce his own corporeal Patronus. That is, if he doesn't mind, of course." Professor Callaghan smiled proudly at his student in the front row.

"It'd be my pleasure, Professor," Tadashi replied dutifully, and stood up.

GoGo groaned inwardly, even as most of the girls (and a handful of males, too) sighed and tittered as Tadashi walked up to the front of the classroom. Honestly, what was so attractive about him? Sure, he had a body made for Quidditch, long and tall and lean. Sure, he was smart, witty, and could hold a decent conversation. Sure, he was _slightly_ attractive, what with his _strangely_ attractive brown eyes and his _strangely_ adorably dorkish ears that stuck out of the side of his face like arrows.

 _No_. GoGo growled, and steeled her resolve. He was _not_ attractive. His eyes were the color of… of mud. And his ears weren't _adorable_. They were annoying and distracting.

She could have sworn that his mud-colored eyes scoured the room until they found hers as he uttered the incantation. " _Expecto Patronum_." A lion, all in its glory, escaped from the tip of Tadashi's wand, doing a slow trot above their heads.

As the lion approached the students in the back of the classroom, she couldn't help but feel a bit dizzy. GoGo clenched her fists so hard until her knuckles turned white. Of _course_ his Patronus was this majestic-looking lion. Of course. Every testosterone-fueled Gryffindor's _dream_ Patronus. She tried to ignore the other dull emotion that was rolling around in her stomach. _Impossible._

"Thank you, Tadashi," Professor Callaghan said, as Tadashi retreated to his seat. "Now, I don't expect all of you to start making corporeal Patronuses right at this moment, especially since it usually takes a few months for someone to go beyond just white wisps of magic. But I at least want you to have _some_ kind of progress during this period." He winked at them then, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Who knows, maybe you'll be able to be as good as Tadashi, over here!"

GoGo never wanted to punch Tadashi's face so bad.

Honey, who was sitting next to GoGo, gave her friend a hesitant tap on the shoulder. "Come on, GoGo, let's practice."

"You practice on your own," GoGo grumbled, absentmindedly miming a stabbing motion with her wand. "I'll pass."

"But GoGo, you can't just _pass_ this!" the brunette squeaked, looking horrified. "The Patronus charm is one of the most useful spells today!"

"Yeah, well so is the Bat-Bogey Hex," GoGo quipped, smirking to herself. "Wasabi's rubbing off on you, Honey."

It was safe to say that Honey left GoGo alone for a while after that, leaving the shorter woman to mull over her options. She finally decided to drift around inconspicuously, as her classmates tried to produce Patronuses. She was never in one place for a long time, and no one ever really noticed that GoGo wasn't really _doing_ anything.

No one, of course, but the _one_ person who considered GoGo a worthy rival, and had truly been looking forward to her doing _something_ to try and best him at this.

"I'm disappointed." A voice said, very near to her ear, and GoGo jumped. "Is the first time I see you not even _trying_?"

She scowled, and turned around to look at Tadashi. "I'm not in the mood for you, Hamada, so step away."

He chuckled, and scratched the back of his head (the motion distracting GoGo). "Wow. _Someone's_ prickly."

GoGo crossed her arms over her chest. "I just don't _feel_ like producing a Patronus today, Hamada. Leave me the fuck alone."

Tadashi looked wounded. "I'm just trying to motivate you to do your classwork!" Tadashi explained, the mischievous glint in his eyes not matching his tone.

"What you _are_ motivating me to do is utter an Unforgiveable Curse," GoGo warned, "And so help me, I will hex you if you don't _back off_."

"Ah, my best students!" GoGo flinched when she heard Callaghan's voice behind her. _No no no no._ "Discussing techniques, are we?"

"You could say that," GoGo said drily, knowing full well that all of the professors were aware of the Tanaka-Hamada rivalry. She was also pretty sure that her own House Head, Krei, was betting on them.

"Splendid!" Their professor exclaimed. "Well, you wouldn't mind showing me _your_ Patronus, then, would you, Miss Tanaka?" Her heart stopped beating. "I'm pretty sure you have a splendid one."

She laughed nervously. "Well, Professor, you're being too kind."

Professor Callaghan placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "No, I insist. I have to admit that I'm very curious to see what form your Patronus takes."

GoGo was too busy panicking to notice her adversary's quizzical expression. After watching her fumble around with excuses for a few more minutes, Tadashi cleared his throat. "Professor, look at Fred Lee's Patronus!" he said, pointing at his Housemate's performance on the other side of the classroom. True to his word, Fred was nearly crying tears of joy at the sight of the light blue bearded lizard crawling on the floor.

"That's splendid!" Callaghan said excitedly. "I must leave you two for a while. Continue your discussion!"

GoGo looked up sourly at her unwanted savior. "I could have handled that myself."

Tadashi sighed. "Is it really that hard to say thank you?"

"To you, yes."

He rose an eyebrow at her, and a slow (sexy) smirk grew on his face, one that GoGo did _not_ like at all. "For saving your skin from whatever you were so anxious about, I think I deserve an explanation."

"You don't."

He leaned in close, and whispered in her ear. "Unused Charms classroom on the third floor. You know the one," he added. "After dinner."

"Or what?" she asked, looking indignant.

"Or I spread the word that your Patronus is a _butterfly_." GoGo rolled her eyes. Was this the best he could do? "And that you used that old broom closet near the kitchens to -"

She made a loud screeching noise, and reached out to clamp her tiny hands over Tadashi's mouth. There was a cease of conversation as everyone looked to see where it was coming from. When they saw GoGo and Tadashi in their current positions, they sighed, and went back to work.

The entire sixth year was already used to and bored of the daily spat. While it did make life more interesting, they found it boring whenever it was done outside the context of Quidditch.

She glared holes at him. "Fine. _Fine._ I'll be there." She removed her hands from his mouth, and then, rubbed her palms on the sleeve of his robes, making a face. "It was _one_ time."

"One time _I'll_ never forget," he grinned, as GoGo gave him the middle finger when she was sure Callaghan wasn't looking.

(*)

"Took you a while," Tadashi drawled as GoGo entered the unused Charms classroom. "Did you really find the turkey _that_ interesting?"

"They had chicken nuggets for the first time in a hundred years," she shot back without a second thought, closing the door behind her. "Now can we hurry this up? I have rounds with Wasabi in thirty minutes."

Tadashi had a small smile on his face. "You know we're almost seventh years, right?" They were both on opposite sides of the classroom now, more than enough distance between them.

She rolled her eyes, and leaned against a desk. "Thanks for reminding me of that unnecessary tidbit, Hamada."

"I heard from a little bird that the Headmaster already has his eye on the next Head Boy and Head Girl." He had a very knowing smile on his face, and GoGo could only begin to imagine the (horrifying) possibilities.

"Well, he must be pretty excited," GoGo said, trying to sound uninterested. She'd known for a while that she was one of the candidates for Head Girl – it was a selfish, secret dream of hers. But the way Hamada was smiling at her was making her _very, very_ uncomfortable. There was something in her gut that told her that _he_ was Head Boy, and that _she_ was Head Girl. Which meant-

"I can see your thoughts racing through your head right now," Tadashi teased. "Don't get too excited yourself, Tanaka."

She snapped at him. "This isn't what I came here for. You can either listen to what I have to say about my Patronus or leave. That was the deal."

His curiosity gets the best of him, and he sat down cross-legged on the floor. "You've got me convinced. So why _exactly_ are you so apprehensive about casting your Patronus in public?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

Ignoring how _cute_ he looked when he did that, GoGo looked away, hoping that the dim lighting in the classroom was enough to hide her blush. "Because I don't know how to alter it yet. I'm still practicing."

Tadashi's eyebrows rose up high on his forehead. "Why would you want to _alter_ it?" She was quiet, and he pressed on. "Your Patronus is _literally_ your spirit guardian, the embodiment of an animal that you identify with." In his indignation, he stood up and stepped closer to her. "To _alter_ your Patronus would be to change the very being of your-"

He paused in his steps when she thrust her wand in front of her, drawing circles in the air, her eyes closed in serene concentration. Tadashi couldn't help but feel something twist in his gut, seeing her so peaceful, calm, and… beautiful. He'd never tell anyone, but it was sometimes her sheer determination and the look she got on her face that made him completely disregard his position as Keeper.

" _Expecto Patronum_ ," she said, her eyes still shut.

Tadashi could only gape his mouth at the lioness that appeared in front of GoGo, pacing in front of her conjurer. "You…"

GoGo opened her eyes, and narrowed them at him. " _Yes_. Leiko 'GoGo' Tanaka, a Slytherin since six years ago, a Prefect and a candidate for Head Girl, has a _lioness_ for a Patronus. Happy now?"

"But…" his voice seemed to fail him.

"What is there to explain?" GoGo said angrily, her Patronus still pacing. "You know very well that I'd become a _laughing stock_ in front of our friends if they knew that my Patronus is a lioness! They'd call me a _blood traitor_! They'd-"

" _Expecto Patronum,_ " Tadashi said under his breath, and his own lion gracefully sailed into the air, right in front of her lioness.

GoGo paled; she had _really_ hoped he wouldn't understand _that_ aspect of her Patronus. She recalled the bubbling in her stomach when she saw his Patronus earlier that afternoon. _Impossible. We can't match. That's not fair._

"They match," Tadashi said faintly, looking as confused as she felt.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, Hamada," GoGo bit out. Uncomfortable with the stare he was giving her, she dismissed her Patronus with a flick of her wand. "Happy now? I don't think I have to tell you to keep this mum," she said, ducking her head as she stowed her wand away in her pocket. "Whether you like it or not, I have a bit of blackmail on you myself, so unless you'd like the entire school knowing what _exactly_ is in your Quidditch bag, I-"

When she looked back up at him, she was stunned to find him right in front of her, his Patronus nowhere in sight. She gulped. "I know that you're a smart girl, GoGo," Tadashi said softly, leaning closer to her. GoGo took a few steps back. He rarely called her anything but Tanaka, so hearing him call her her preferred name was

"Of course you do, I could trump your ass in Potions and Transfiguration any day of the week," she quipped, her resolve wavering as he took another few steps closer, the distance between them closing.

"So I don't need to explain to you what matching Patronuses mean, then." His voice had become _deliciously_ tantalizing, husky and deep. GoGo fought back the urge to break out in goosebumps, and reach inside her robe for her wand.

GoGo took another few steps backward, gulping when she felt the smooth wall come in contact with her back. She was trapped. "There's nothing wrong with having matching Patronuses, Hamada. If you're so concerned with your image, then just wait until I can alter it."

"What if I don't want you to change it?" he asked her, a slow smile appearing on his face. Her heart leapt. "What if I _want_ you to keep your lioness?" He leaned in closer, bowing his head down so that his mouth was just by her ear. "What if I've been so _irritated_ at our stupid little rivalry?" He reached up and trapped her in between his arms, placing them on either side of her head. "What if I want to know how you'd react if I did _this_?" GoGo's breath hitched as she felt him place a kiss on the hollow between her ear and neck, and she couldn't help but place her hands on his chest. Whether she was trying to push him away or just grab onto something so she wouldn't fall down was unclear, but GoGo was one percent away from not caring.

"I-I'd think you're crazy," she breathed out, her own voice making the hair on the back of Tadashi's neck stand up.

He raised his head so that he was looking at her directly in the eyes, his eyes darkening to the likeness of dark chocolate. "I'd think so, too," he said, and finally closed the distance between their lips.

His lips crashed onto hers and GoGo closed her eyes upon impact, kissing him back with as much fervor. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't been thinking this; she secretly believed that Honey was right, that all their petty arguments was just a huge build-up of unrelieved sexual tension. GoGo clutched at the front of his robes, bunching the fabric in her fists as she pulled him closer to her. He groaned, and deepened the kiss as his arms slowly lowered down so that they were resting on her hips.

She gasped as she felt his teeth graze her bottom lip, their breath mingling. She found it amusing that he tasted like chocolate, as well – probably from the chocolate cake served for dessert. She wondered what _she_ tasted like, as she felt his hands tighten around her hips to bring her impossibly closer to him. As if reading her mind, he broke away from her, panting. "Caramel," he said decisively, and continued kissing her once on the lips, then across her jawline and down her neck.

GoGo leaned her head back on the wall, her hands now finding new positions on his broad shoulders. He nipped at a particularly sensitive area above her clavicle, and she made a sound would have made a nun blush, and made Tadashi hum in approval over her skin. This was _years_ of tension rolling off of them in waves, and while GoGo was currently a slave to her hormones, there was still a little voice that was telling her that this was moving _way_ too fast.

She quashed the voice in her head, and reached for Tadashi's face and gently guided him back up to her lips. This time, the kiss had lost the hunger they had expressed earlier, and was sweet, long, and chaste. As their kiss finally slowed to a stop, he leaned his forehead against hers as both of them tried to regain their breath. GoGo placed a hand over her heart, sure that the nurse would _definitely_ think she had just run a marathon.

Their eyes met after a few moments of silence, and for some strange reason, something just snapped in both of them. Both of them paled as the loving gaze that went between of two people who had just made up against a wall slowly faded away until their faces reflected the same emotion – _horror_.

"Oh my God," GoGo said, her spine straightening. _She had just done that. She had just_ melted _against Tadashi Hamada and she had_ liked _it. There was no way she had just made out with a sworn enemy._

"Oh my God," Tadashi said almost the same time she did, his hands immediately going to his head to comb through his hair. "What the – What the-"

" _Fuck_!" GoGo completed his sentence, paling. She reached out both arms and pushed him away from her, blushing furiously. "Get away from me!"

"Way ahead of you," he said, stepping away. "Listen, this-"

"This _never happened_ ," GoGo stressed, pointing a finger to his chest. "You breathe a _word_ of this to anyone and I will deny it. I will deny it to the point that even Legilimency wouldn't be able to crack me," she swore, and stepped away from him.

Her hands shook as she hurriedly tried to straighten her appearance, combing through her hair and straightening her tie and collar. She turned back to watch him doing the same check on himself, and couldn't help but sigh before exiting the classroom.

She was in very, _very_ deep shit.

(*)

 _Ooooh UST is my favorite thing to work out asdfghjkl. Though I'm not sure if this will be a two or three shot, I can tell you that the next chapter is_ all _Quidditch._

 _As a clarification for all those concerned, GoGo is a Slytherin, Tadashi, Hiro and Fred are Gryffindors, Wasabi is a Ravenclaw and Honey's a Hufflepuff. I'll definitely be adding OC's and other characters next chapter to fill up the Quidditch teams._

 _See you next chapter!_


	2. Arresto Momentum

_Thank you so much for the views, reviews, and favorites last chapter! This is easily one of my favorite AU's._

(*)

"Are you _sure_ that there's nothing going on between you two?" Honey asked GoGo, obliviously sitting at the Slytherin table for breakfast.

GoGo sighed. "Like I said, Honey. _Nothing_." She took a huge gulp of orange juice, a little bit dribbling down her chin. After wiping off her chin with the back of her hand, she glared at Honey. "Why do you keep asking me about that?"

"Well," Honey started, looking purposively innocent as she stirred a mug of hot chocolate. "Both of you always hiss at each other whenever the two of you pass the other by – well, you do, anyway, and he just smiles at you – but you never really _ignore_ each other."

GoGo scoffed. "We've ignored each other plenty of times." It had been two and a half weeks since The Incident (not like she was counting, or anything), and there was a lot of truth to what Honey was saying. Instead of spewing out insults and threats like they used to, they would either ignore each other pointedly, or high-tail it in the opposite direction (which was GoGo's move). It wasn't _GoGo's_ fault, she told herself. She just couldn't stand looking at him, and remembering the taste of chocolate-

"Earth to GoGo!" Honey waved a hand in front of her friends' face. "Hello?" After getting an almost absent response, Honey sighed. Being friends with someone who had no qualms with shutting you out was very frustrating, especially for such a pure Hufflepuff heart. The brunette had a feeling that GoGo was just feeling nervous this morning. It was the Quidditch finals against Gryffindor today, and she knew that the smaller female always got a bit touchy whenever she had to face Tadashi in the field.

"Tanaka. Time for the team meeting, come on." GoGo jumped out of her reverie as she heard her captain, Seeker Vincent Valentine, beckon over to her from the side of the table. "Hurry up, yeah?"

GoGo rolled her eyes. "Aye-aye, Captain." She took a final swig from her cup of orange juice, saluting Honey. "See you on the pitch, announcer."

Honey just shook her head, amused, as GoGo and the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team filed out of the Great Hall. She decided to finish her breakfast (an announcer couldn't faint on the spot now, could she?) at the Slytherin table, not caring about the questioning looks her own housemates gave her. Honey found herself looking around the Great Hall, until her gaze finally stopped on a certain Tadashi Hamada.

It was curious, really, Honey thought to herself, that Tadashi Hamada, who had some sort of claim that he disliked GoGo, was watching the said girl walk out of the Great Hall, an absentminded smile on his face.

(*)

"All right. Quidditch finals." Valentine clapped his hands together. "We all knew this was coming. I don't care if we win or lose – scratch that. We _win_. And we win _good_ , so I can rub it in Hamada's face." The only person who disliked Hamada as much as GoGo did was probably Valentine, but it was more of an alpha male syndrome more than anything. And besides, Captains butted heads more than often, so this was normal.

GoGo popped her gum (a ritual she had before she got on any broom), and crossed her hands over her chest. "Don't worry, Valentine, we'll get the cup for you for your last year."

Valentine looked at her, dark eyes burrowing into hers. "Do _not_ get your personal feelings mixed in with this game, Tanaka. I'm warning you."

Before she could snap at him, their own Keeper, a gangly fourth year who looked too tall for his age named Henney, spoke up. "Says the guy who said we should win so he could rub it in Hamada's face," he drawled.

"I don't think anyone ships it more than I do," Wang, a beater, told her co-beater, Abbott.

"Shut up, Wang, Henney," Valentine snarled. "Fine. _No one_ should let their feelings get in the way of this game. No stunts. No tricks. Just really, _really_ good Quidditch. Aye?"

"Aye," the entire team said in unison.

(*)

"Good morning guys, Honey the Huffie here, and I'm your announcer for today's match! _Slytherin versus Gryffindor for the Cup!_ " The pitch broke out into huge screams and cheers, the whole school divided into either scarlet red or emerald green colors. "We're sure to have a great match ahead of us, _especially_ since we've got a certain rivalry on our hands, you know what' I'm talking about!"

Mixed yells ran through the crowd, but Honey knew they were chanting 'Hamada' and 'Tanaka'. _Ah, how she loved milking their rivalry for everything it was worth._ "And here are our teams! First up, Slytherin! Keeper Henney! Chasers Tanaka, Kaide, and Reid! Beaters Wang and Abbott! And Seeker _Valentine_!" The Slytherin team flew out in single file, their expressions drawn. GoGo was easily the smallest Chaser, as Kaide and Reid were seventh-years and as tall as she was short. GoGo was easily formidable on her own, though, as she was easily the fastest Chaser on a broom. Wang and Abbott had identical smirks on their faces; Abbott could hold his own, but it was Wang you had to worry about – just because she was a girl did _not_ mean she was afraid to whack a Bludger towards you. Valentine brought up the rear, the confidence shining through his stance.

"Now it's Gryffindor's time! Keeper Hamada! Chasers Simmons, Wood, and Sinistra! Beaters Weasley and Weasley! And Seeker Hamada!" Cheers erupted from the crowd at what was easily Gryffindor's best team yet. Tadashi was a splendid Keeper, faster on a broom than any normal Keeper was. Simmons, Wood, and Sinistra were a great team, having the best formations of any Chaser combination. Wood had Quidditch blood, being a distant grandson of former Gryffindor Captain Oliver Wood. The Weasley's were extremely volatile; while they weren't twins, rather, they were distant cousins. One of them was a descendant of Hogwart's Legend, Ron Weasley, while the other was a descendant from George Weasley's line. Finally, their Seeker and newest addition to the team, was Hiro, Tadashi's younger brother. It had surprised everyone when little Hiro was chosen as Seeker, but he had quickly proven his worth throughout Quidditch season.

Abigail Callaghan, who was Hufflepuff's Head of House and a flying instructor, blew her whistle, signaling for the teams to come forward. "I expect a fair game from all of you, got it?" she said, motioning for Tadashi and Valentine to shake hands. "Keepers, to your goals!"

Tadashi passed by GoGo on the way to his goal, locking eyes with her. GoGo didn't back down, and stared evenly at him, while Tadashi merely rose an eyebrow at her. The unspoken challenge hung in between both of them – _Just try to get the Quaffle past me, Tanaka._ GoGo straightened her posture, and flew towards the center of the pitch. _Watch me._

"And Professor Callaghan is about to blow the starting whistle…" an excited Honey said into the microphone, just as the whistle blew and the Quaffle came flying into the air. Something in GoGo clicked, and she zoomed towards her target. "And Tanaka snatches the Quaffle right before Sinistra's eyes! Meanwhile, Valentine and Hamada are going for similar tactics to look for that Snitch, seeking from above!" GoGo had completely blocked out Honey's voice and was quickly closing in on the other side of the pitch.

"Got your back!" Abbott called out sharply to her right, and GoGo watched as he neatly swung his Beater bat and saved her from being hit by a Bludger. "Watch out for the Golden Trio," he warned, and pointed his bat somewhere behind her.

GoGo cursed, and urged her broom to go a little faster. Everyone who wasn't a Gryffindor called Wood, Simmons and Sinistra the Golden Trio. They usually ganged up on the one Chaser that had the Quaffle, which just made them more annoying. "The Cup belongs to the Lions, Tanaka," Simmons jeered now, coming from somewhere close behind her. She tightened her lips, clutching the Quaffle tightly to her side.

"And Wang saves Valentine from a fast Bludger! Don't we all wish we had arms like that," Honey called out. "Still no sign of the Snitch yet, it seems, since Valentine and Hamada are still keeping pretty calm. Meanwhile, Tanaka's being stalked by the Golden Trio, and they're gaining on her!"

"Don't let me down," GoGo muttered, and patted her broom before pushing it to the limit. As she neared Gryffindor's goal, she caught sight of Tadashi, who was cocking his head at her, looking confident.

"The first showdown between Tanaka and Hamada!" Honey cried out cheerfully. "Who's got this?"

Something in her gut twisted then, and GoGo hesitated a few feet away from the goals. That second of hesitation cost her _greatly_ – she felt a breeze, and suddenly the Quaffle was out of her hands and in Wood's. " _No_ ," GoGo growled, and kicked off to chase her Quaffle.

"Wood _steals_ the Quaffle from Tanaka!" Honey cried out, obviously dismayed. "Looks like she isn't going to give up, though. Excellent reaction time, GoGo!"

Just before they reached the middle of the field, GoGo found herself flanked by the remaining members of the Golden Trio. "Cat got your tongue, Tanaka?" Sinistra teased, bumping into her side. "What _was_ with that little moment there?"

"Not your fucking business, Sinistra."

"Ooh, language," Simmons said, knocking into her. "Least you could do is spare us a little bit of nice vibes."

Before GoGo could mince at either of them with her words, she was distracted by Kaide quickly intercepting and snatching the Quaffle from Wood, and yelling out to her. "GoGo! Go long!"

It was one of GoGo's favorite Quidditch tactics to use on Purebloods; since half of her Quidditch team had been raised in Muggle surroundings, they understood Muggle sports terms. While the other teams were still slowly trying to get used to the terminology, it was like a mother tongue for GoGo.

She abruptly flew upwards, startling Simmons and Sinistra, and zoomed back towards the goal as Kaide threw the Quaffle. She caught it with ease, feeling as if she had been reconnected with her soul. Learning from her earlier mistake, she went straight for the goal, locking eyes with Tadashi. She feigned right, knowing that he would immediately think she was aiming for the left, and waited for him to make the move.

He jerked towards the left, and GoGo immediately threw the Quaffle to his right, just making the goal. "And Tanaka scores the first goal! Ten points to Slytherin! And will you take a look at Hamada's face!"

Tadashi's mouth fell open, as GoGo smirked at him. "We're just getting started, Hamada," she said softly, and flew off. She returned Wang's fist bump as she passed by, feeling confident. The Cup was _theirs._

The match went on pretty quickly, with GoGo scoring six more goals (to Tadashi's chagrin) and her counterparts scoring two each. Gryffindor was also trying to catch up, however; at the end of half an hour, the score was 120-100, in Slytherin's favor.

Everything was going perfectly well, of course. That was, of course, until Tadashi did something that threw her completely off balance. She was just about to throw the Quaffle when Tadashi did it.

 _He bit his lip._

GoGo tightened her grip on the ball, hesitating once again. Luckily, she was watching out for the Golden Trio, and was able to dodge before Sinistra tried to grab the Quaffle from her. As if a light had suddenly been flicked on in her, GoGo became _furious_. It wasn't _fair_ that he was able to affect her this way. She had _never_ needed to control herself in a game against him, and she wouldn't allow this to continue.

Without thinking about the consequences of her actions, GoGo moved – and threw the Quaffle directly at Tadashi's pretty face.

The whistle blew just as the Golden Trio started screeching 'Foul' at her, the rest of the Gryffindor side of the pit erupted into outraged yells. "And Tanaka seems to have committed a foul," a concerned Honey said into the microphone. "Violating the 'above the shoulders' rule, I think? Technically, she didn't actually contact him _physically_ , but it looks like there was intent. This is going to be up to the referee."

An outraged Valentine flew towards her, yanking her upper arm. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

"I don't… know," she said truthfully, yanking her arm back away from him. "Did I hit him?"

Valentine scowled deeply at her. "He caught the Quaffle before it hit pretty boy's face, so you did no damage. You _better_ hope Callaghan doesn't find you at fault for this. What the hell were you thinking?" He ranted.

"Will the captains and the violator please come here?" Abigail said sternly from the ground. Once GoGo, Valentine, and Tadashi were on the ground, Abigail started talking. "As all three of you know, there is a strict 'no physical contact above the shoulders and below the knees' rule in Quidditch."

"But-"

"Let me finish, Valentine," Abigail snapped. "I'm aware that she used a Quaffle to commit this foul or not. I'm also aware that there may or may not have been intent to purposely hit him in the face with the Quaffle, seeing as the two of them have been fighting like cats and dogs since they got here. That being said, I'm going to leave it up to the Gryffindor Captain to decide if he wants to have her penalized or not."

GoGo clenched her fists. If she got benched now and cost them the game, Valentine was going to kill her. Or stab her through the gut with his Nimbus. Or bludgeon her with a Bludger, or stuff a Snitch down her throat. He would find a way to kill her, if he didn't have a heart attack first. Then again, he would also probably haunt her as a ghost.

Tadashi shrugged, his eyes avoiding GoGo's. "No harm, no foul, Professor," he said easily. It was hard to see who looked more surprised, GoGo or Valentine. "Of course, if she'd given me a bloody nose, I'd be saying different, but…" He looked at GoGo now, a cool, measuring expression on his face. "We all know this game would be boring without Tanaka's presence."

"Keep her in check," Abigail said to Valentine, nodding briefly. "Tanaka, no more violations for you, or there will be consequences. I'll go speak with the announcer."

Before GoGo could look at Tadashi gratefully, Valentine stepped in front of her, glowering. "No more stunts like that, Tanaka, I _swear_. I'll bench you _myself_ if I have to."

GoGo narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't worry about it. I lost my cool. People make mistakes."

"Not today, they don't." He sneered at her then. "You're lucky Hamada's so in love with you."

She turned a dark shade of red, and mounted her broom. "You're such an ass. Get your head in the game."

(*)

The game progressed normally, the Snitch finally showing itself fifteen minutes after GoGo's near-foul. She currently watched from above as Reid and Kaide pulled a stunning deceptive maneuver to confuse Tadashi, and score them the goal that made the scores even again. It was anybody's game at that moment, which meant that it really was all up to Hiro and Valentine. She sighed, and waited patiently for another opportunity to snatch the Quaffle away from the Lions. Just as she was about to chase down Simmons, however, thundering screams erupted from the crowd. These were the kind of screams that only came out when the Seekers were in action.

The Snitch had finally been spotted again on the ground, and Hiro and Valentine were both making a mad dash for the Golden Snitch. Despite their earlier argument, GoGo found herself cheering silently for her captain. Both of them were scary good when it came down to chasing the Snitch, and it would be a very, _very_ close race.

While GoGo played close attention to the two Seekers, she failed to hear the tell-tale whizzing noise that came only from a Bludger. "GoGo, watch out!" A panicked Abbott called out, too far away to save her from the incoming Bludger.

She heard a _crack_ , and felt a sharp pain on the side of her head… and then she blacked out.

(*)

It was dark, and every little movement made her see stars. There was a sharp, yet gnawing pain that was irritating her, and she just wanted it to go away forever. " _Fuck_."

"Yep, she's coming to." GoGo couldn't place the owner of the nervous chuckles, so she tried to open her eyes.

"Oh, don't strain yourself, GoGo!" Honey's concerned voice came from her right. "The nurse said you should just sleep it off for a while. You got hit in the head pretty hard." Despite Honey's warning, GoGo wrenched her eyes open, and immediately regretted it as she hissed in pain. "I told you so!"

This time, she opened her eyes slowly, letting herself adjust to the surroundings around her. As she had suspected, she was in the hospital wing, still dressed in her Quidditch greens. She was flanked by Honey on her right side, and Wasabi on the left. "Did we win?" she croaked out.

"Of _course_ that would be the first thing on your mind," her brunette friend said crossly. "Yes. You did. Your teammates left a few hours ago to celebrate. And Valentine should be very _thankful_ that you got hit in the head with a Bludger."

GoGo was confused, and she sat up in bed to get a better look at her friends. "What are you talking about?"

Wasabi looked curiously at her. "What do you remember?"

"Well…" GoGo bit her lip. "I remember Abbott telling me to watch out, and then I remember getting hit. That's all, really." She watched as Honey and Wasabi exchanged a glance, and GoGo became suspicious. "What's with the look?"

"You tell her, you were announcing," Wasabi said immediately, gesturing at her.

"Fine, fine. So in all honesty, er, no one actually really noticed that you got hit, except for Abbott. Hiro and Valentine were _this_ close to catching the Snitch, so of _course_ everyone's eyes were on them, even Professor Callaghan. The other three Beaters were watching their respective Seekers, protecting them from Bludgers, except for Abbott. He was too far away to get it way from you, though…" Honey fiddled with her thumbs, a sign that GoGo knew meant she was hesitant to continue.

Wasabi rolled his eyes. "So he cast _Arresto Momentum_ to slow you down in time, but he was still too far away, and even then, no one was watching. Except for…"

"Except for _who_?" GoGo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Tadashi," both of them said in unison. GoGo stared at them blankly, a blush starting to grow on her face.

"You've gotta be _fucking_ kidding me," she groaned, lying back down.

"You were closer to _his_ goal, see, so when he saw you falling, he just up and left his post," Wasabi explained. "And Hiro must have some kind of psychic connection to his older brother or something, because when Tadashi did _that_ , Hiro lost his concentration and just paused."

"And then Valentine caught the Snitch!" Honey chimed in happily. Seeing the look on GoGo's face, Honey hurriedly moved on. "You, um, you fell off your broom." _Oh, no._ "So, uh, Tadashi went to go and get you because Abbott was too far away." _Shit._ "So he, well…" Honey smiled innocently. "He caught you in mid-air." As if unable to control herself, Honey squealed. "It was so _romantic_!"

GoGo was visibly disturbed by this fact. Why did he even care? She had basically told him to fuck off forever, never mind that they had an extremely nice 'moment' a few weeks ago. She had given him the cold shoulder, nearly broke his nose with a Quaffle, and he still cared enough to abandon his post just to _catch_ her? "It was _not_ romantic," she replied indignantly, shaking her head.

"Oh, but GoGo, you should have seen the look on his face," the brunette said in excitement. "He was so _concerned_! And he flew you _directly_ to the Hospital Wing, like he didn't even care who won or lost, just as long as you were all right!"

"Wait, he _flew_ me here?" GoGo squawked, bolting upright in bed. She groaned, and rubbed her temples. _Right. No more sudden movements from now on._

"What, did you expect him to drop you on the ground and leave you there?" Honey asked incredulously.

"… Yes?"

"He _did_ look pretty intense about it," Wasabi reluctantly agreed. "By that time, everyone was just crying over the win. Valentine didn't even notice you were gone until he had cried a little puddle into the cup."

GoGo just shook her head, a faint smile on her face. "Yep, that's our captain." Something else occurred to her, and she looked up at Honey, a panicked expression on her face. "How the hell am I going to face Hamada _now_?"

"You could ask me yourself."

The three of them looked towards the door to the hospital wing to see Tadashi in the doorway, a small smile on his face. Honey gasped in delight, and immediately stood up, reaching over to grab Wasabi. "Annnnd we'll be going now!" she cried out, dragging Wasabi away from GoGo's bed. GoGo felt a few butterflies in her stomach, and she growled at Honey.

" _Traitor_."

"Oh, you'll thank me for this, GoGo!" Honey insisted, standing in front of Tadashi. She stopped, and pointed a finger at his chest, her cheerful demeanor being replaced with an uncharacteristic seriousness. "Make her cry and you're dead to me and the rest of my house."

She sharply elbowed Wasabi in the ribs. "Right. Mine too," Wasabi choked out, glaring at Honey.

Tadashi smiled cheerfully at them. "As long as we're all clear on that." He leaned in and whispered to them. "But between you and me, I know she doesn't cry."

Honey looked unmoved. "You might be the first. We'll be taking our leave, now."

Tadashi watched Honey and Wasabi leave, only slightly disconcerted by Honey's remark. GoGo wouldn't care _that_ much, would she? She was strong and independent. They'd butted heads numerous times throughout the years, and she had never shed a tear. Why would she start now? He shook his head, shaking off the thoughts, and approached her bedside. "Congrats on the win," he said, sitting down where Honey had been.

She pursed her lips. "…Thank you." GoGo turned her head to the side, looking away from him. "For earlier, too. And sorry. You know. About the Quaffle."

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't a problem," he said, leaning back in the chair. "It was like… like I was on autopilot, you know?"

"You distracted Hiro," she crossed her arms over her chest. "You basically cost your team the game."

He shrugged. "It's Quidditch. I'll be playing next year, and we'll definitely win." Tadashi smirked at her, and she hated the way it made her pulse race.

She couldn't help herself as the corner of her mouth quirked into a smile. "Is that a challenge, Hamada?"

"Oh, definitely." There was something different about their banter, something uncomfortably different. They were unarguably more civil with each other, although it might have been because Tadashi, good soul that he was, didn't want to exacerbate her injuries. But it also might have been because of something else, and it made GoGo feel like a fish out of water.

"So…" she fiddled with the bedsheets, still avoiding his stare. "Autopilot, huh?"

He was suddenly grateful that she wasn't looking at him as he blushed. "Yep."

GoGo chuckled. "Guess I have your programming to thank then, hm?" Tadashi was silent after her remark, and it made her finally look up at him. Their eyes met, and GoGo was speechless at the intensity in his eyes. It wasn't unlike the one he had given her two weeks ago, and she gulped.

"We need to talk."

"How cliché of you," she managed to mutter. "Don't you know that nothing good comes after those words?"

"I was under the impression that after that… _night_ ," he blushed, "We would go back to normal. Fighting, sassing, the whole deal."

GoGo nodded in agreement. "True."

"But we didn't." Tadashi sighed. "If anything, we just made everything more awkward than usual, and people have been noticing."

She snorted. "You think people aren't talking about what happened during Quidditch today? A _normal_ person would have benched me. Hell, _I_ would have benched me."

"The thing _is_ , GoGo, what I feel for you right now, it's not – it's not _normal_."

Her eyes flew open. "What are you saying?" _She knew very damn well what he was saying, but she needed to hear it for herself._

"Not talking to you the past two weeks was awful," Tadashi explained. "It was like, realizing that you messed something up, and that you needed to redeem yourself before you lost it forever and…" He was lost for words, something that GoGo was finding strangely attractive. "And I didn't _want_ to not have you for the rest of the year. It was like being stuck in a circle of hell, only I can't think of a specific one because Muggle Studies doesn't really talk about Dante Alighieri… And then I saw you get hit, I saw you fall off your broom, and then I realized that… I couldn't let anything happen to you."

She felt like she could burst into a million stars and fireworks at his words; it all seemed so right and so wrong at the same time. They were _enemies_ , she spat fire and he hosed her down, it was a dynamic, and this, whatever _this_ was, would change _everything_ , but right now, she could care less. So GoGo did what she did best, and that was let her emotions take the reins. She reached for him.

For some reason, he ended up sitting on her bed as the two of them kissed for the second time that month, reconnecting like lovers that had been separated for way too long. "Definitely crazy," GoGo murmured under her breath, as his hands tangled themselves in her short black hair.

"It's a good crazy," he said, tilting her head back so that he could press open-mouthed kisses to her neck, marking her. GoGo moaned softly, burying her face in his hair as he moved lower, finally reaching that sensitive spot above her clavicle-

"Ehem."

The two of them broke apart immediately, hair messed up and faces flushed, both in pleasure and in embarrassment. Tadashi scooted away from her, nearly falling off the bed, until he finally just stood up awkwardly at her bedside. They looked up at the nurse, who had a bemused smile on her face. "I just wanted to say that the entire Slytherin Quidditch team is about to make their presence known. Just a forewarning."

"O-Oh," GoGo said, a bit shaky. "Thanks. I'll…" She looked up at Tadashi, who still looked like he was in shock. "Are you staying here?"

He laughed nervously. "It might, uhm… it might not be a good idea for me to be here. In this state," he said lamely. "I'll see you later?"

GoGo shook her head in amusement. "Later." The implication was clear, and both of them blushed again, as the nurse laughed.

"Go on, lover boy, I'll make sure she's all right."

He paused before leaving her, and bent down to kiss her forehead. "Get well soon, okay?"

GoGo smiled up at him. "I'll try."

 _I'll try._

(*)

 _I can't help but think this chapter is lackluster in terms of fluff? I don't know._

 _So this is now going to be a three-shot, we'll get to see a bit of conflict next chapter. Do you think GoGo's_ really _going to go along with this new relationship? She does have the tendency to be hard-headed. :P_

 _It sounds rushed at the end to me, but I really didn't want to have a long make-out session, since that really isn't realistic to me, or anything, especially since GoGo just got whacked in the head by a speeding bludger…_

 _As usual, this was posted at approximately 2 in the morning, which is when I have too many typos to count – if you catch any, feel free to PM or review them. Cookies if you do it nicely!_

 _See you next chapter!_


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